//------------------------------//
// Bats 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S4 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

In the Everfree Forest, several shadows were racing through the trees. The dark beings moved like the wind, shifting around the leaves as they made their way through the valley of wooden pillars. These shadows continued on their way, only for the sun to peek out of the ceiling of trees, revealing their true forms. It was a horde of Speed Stingers, a set of velociraptor-like creatures, all hunting for food. Though they were primarily nocturnal predators, they had failed to find food last night, and thus continued their search as the sun rose into the sky.

And as they kept to the shade, their eyes suddenly screeched in pain as a bright light illuminated the whole area. They came to a stop as the light continued to shine, the group now backpedaling as a figure appeared before them. It was Flash Sentry, his Celestic Gear showing itself as the light's source.

"That's as far as you go." Flash commanded as he pointed the sword at the beasts. They just growled at him, only to hop back as a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of them.

Lightning appeared next, Iron and Springer by his side as he asked, "I know you told us you sensed these things coming mutt, but uh...what do these things do again?"

"They're fast and have a stinger that'll put you to sleep," Springer explained as he crossed his paws. "But they hate light, so that's why you two are dealing with them."

"Alright. That definitely works for me." Lightning chuckled as he started to double the brightness of his electricity. One of the Stingers shut its eyes and dashed at Lightning, only for it to slam into an iron wall that appeared between them.

Iron watched as the dazed creature staggered back, the defender retracting the iron wall and pulling Piecemaker free. "Just don't try and hurt them too much. All we need to do is steer them away from Ponyville."

Lightning turned to him with wide eyes, "Didn't these things almost kill you once?! Why are you being so kind with them?!"

Flash shook his head with a smirk, "Don't mind him. Fluttershy's just...rubbing off on him." Iron was about to make a snide comment, but the sounds of bells ringing caught everypony's attention. "That's coming from Sweet Apple Acres."

Iron gave him a hard nod. "You go see what's happening. We'll handle the rest of these invaders."

"Once these things are gone, we'll come help." Springer added, Flash nodding back before running off. As he exited the forest, he spotted Fluttershy and moved up next to her. The mare smiled back before refocusing her efforts on getting to their destination, the two arriving at the same moment as Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, Rarity and Pinkie did.

"Attention!" Applejack called out as she continued to ring a bell. "This is a Sweet Apple Acres code red! I need all hooves...and claws, on deck!"

Rarity was the first to reach the farm pony, a glum frown on her face. "Calm down Applejack. Its much too early for this."

Applejack replied to the fashionista by getting right up into her face. "Calm down?! How can I calm down at a time like this?! Vampire fruit bats are attackin' Sweet Apple Acres!"

Twilight tilted her head at this. "But I thought the fruit bats usually stayed put in the west orchard?"

Applejack nodded as she moved in front of the group. "The fruit bats do, but these aren't just your everyday ordinary fruit bats." She spun back around, trying to give off as much intensity as she could. "They're vampire fruit bats!"

Flash raised an eyebrow, "There's a difference?"

"A big difference!" She turned to glare at him. "And where's Springer and the others? We need all hooves working on stopping these varmints!" She stepped over to a nearby tree, which had a big white sheet hiding something large underneath. "I'll be darned if they think they're gonna sink their fangs into my blue ribbon apple." With that, she pulled the sheet away to reveal the biggest apple any of them had ever seen. It was so large that it actually made the tree bend over, the fruit now reflecting off the sun in a way that made it gleam. The group all marveled at the sight, whispering their amazement as Applejack continued. "This here's our entry into the Appleloosa State Fair's produce competition." She exhaled onto the fruit before polishing the spot. "You know how much TLC goes into getting an apple to grow like this?"

Rarity stepped up to the apple, smiling as she saw her reflection in it. "Oh my, Applejack! When you go big, you really go big!"

Applejack nodded before patting one of the trees. "Ah know. That's why this is a problem. Them vampire bats want to shrivel it up like a raisin!"

Fluttershy put her hoof over her mouth, "Oh, I'm sure if we just let them know how special that particular apple is to you, I'm sure they'll leave it alone."

Applejack raised an eyebrow at Fluttershy's suggestion, pointing at the trees, "Yeah, right. Be my guest."

Fluttershy smiled before flying over to the tree with one of the bats, "Um...excuse me, Mr. Vampire Bat?" She then backpedaled as an incoming apple carcass hit the ground in front of her. "Uh...we were just wondering if maybe you wouldn't mind leaving that really big apple alone?" She looked up at the tree expectedly, only for a barrage of appleseeds to start hitting her.

She gasped before shielding her face with her wings, floating back to Applejcak at the same time. "Well? What'd he say?"

Fluttershy brushed the seeds out of her mane, humming, "Yes."

"Huh?!" Was all the earth pony could say, surprised that they had actually agreed.

"But...it could've also been a no."

"Oh..." Applejack happy face faltered.

"This is the first vampire fruit bat I've ever met, and...well...it might take some time for me to really understand their language."

Applejack raised a single eyebrow at this, "Uh-huh. And in the meantime, this pest and his vermin friends are gonna go after my prized apple, and while they're at it, every other apple in the orchard!" She glared up at the tree with a look they had only ever seen her give to villains...and maybe the Flim Flam Brothers. "These vampire bats are nothin' but a bunch of monsters!"

"MONSTERS?!" Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"No, I don't."

Flash then leaned over to Twilight, "I'm sensing a song coming on."

"Same here," Twilight replied as the inbuilt musical sense all Equestrians had kicked in as they watched Applejack and Fluttershy turn to the trees.


(Applejack)
Those vampire bats will give you a fright.
Eating apples both day and night.
They rest for a minute, maybe three.
Then they're eating every apple in your apple tree.
They don't care about nada, not zilch, no, nothing.
Except bringing about an orchard's destruction.


Everypony nodded in agreement, starting to get behind Applejack in this argument. However, Fluttershy wasn't about to let the bats to be subjugated without first speaking her peace.


(Fluttershy)
Now wait just a minute, there's another side to this.
And if I did not defend them, then I would be remiss.
These bats are mamas and papas too.
They care for their young just like we ponies do.


As Fluttershy sung, the others slowly started seeing it from the bats point of view. They needed food, and that's what the orchid was full of. It wasn't there fault what they needed to do caused the problem.


(Applejack)
Oh, give me a break, you're being too kind.
These creatures have a one-track mind.
The orchard is not their restaurant.
But do they ever think what others may want?.
No! They don't!
And that is just a fact.
These bats, they simply don't know how to act.

(Fluttershy)
That's where I have to disagree.
They're loyal to their family.
Spreading seeds both far and wide-

(Applejack)
You see one coming, you'd better run and hide!


The farm pony turned to the others, now wearing a cape that made her shadow look like a bat. Doing so, she started skulking towards the others.


(Applejack)
They're big and ugly and mean as sin.
Will you look at the state my trees are in?

(Fluttershy)
They'll help your trees, they'll grow stronger, faster.

(Applejack)
They've turned my life to a total disaster!


The group all looked around the orchid, seeing what the bats had done to the trees. As much as they wanted to agree with Fluttershy, they couldn't risk Sweet Apple Acres losing business. The farm was one of their towns economical corner stones and if it fell on hard times, so would the rest of Ponyville. Turning to Fluttershy, they began to tell her their choice.


(Rarity)
Well, I for one don't have a doubt.
These vermin must be stamped right out.

(Rainbow)
I second that, they've got to go.
These bats, they've got to hit the road.

(Applejack)
It comes down to just one simple fact.
They've crossed the line, it's time to fight them back!


Six of the Mane Seven began to circle their remaining teammate, singing to her with a serious look on each of their faces...except maybe Pinkie, who just liked singing.


(Everypony except Fluttershy)
Stop the bats! Stop the bats!
Make them go and not come back!
Stop the bats!
Stop the bats!
Make them go and not come back!
Stop the bats!
Stop the bats!
Make them go and not come back!


Applejack turned to Fluttershy and stared her down, making the mare slowly shrink into the ground.


(Applejack)
Yes, it comes down to just one simple fact.
They've crossed the line, it's time that we attack!


On the final beat of the song, the others all nodded their heads to signal that they now sided with Applejack. Fluttershy frowned as she stared holes into the dirt, making the others realize that maybe they'd gone a bit too far. Rarity then helped her up. "I'm sorry Fluttershy, but I believe Applejack has made the better argument. These vampire fruit bats sound downright dreadful."

"What sounds dreadful?" They all turned to see Iron, Lightning and Springer trotting into the orchid.

Flash grinned at the sight, "Hey guys, Speed Stingers gone?"

Springer smirked with a thumbs up. "You know it. Not a single Stinger around for a hundred miles."

"Than ya'll can help us deal with another group of pests," Applejack remarked as she gestured them to follow. "Let's get to roundin' these things up so they don't destroy the rest of mah orchard."

Pinkie giggled as she started bouncing along the ground, singing to a tune the town had once sung during the end of last winter. "Fruit bat round-up, fruit bat round-up!"

However, the one pony who was against the idea piped up at this. "Um...excuse me? What if instead of rounding them up, we...uh....we let them have part of the orchard?"

Hearing this made Applejack come to a complete stop, letting out a whinny noise before spinning around to glare at her friend. "Have you lost yer pest-lovin' mind?!"

"They're only here because they're hungry!" Fluttershy barked back. "If we build a sanctuary for them, they could have their own apples to enjoy!" She stepped past Applejack as she continued, "After a while, they could even help the rest of your orchard! The vampire bats don't eat the seeds of the apples, and when they spit them out, they grow into even more productive apple trees!" She pointed to one of the remaining apple trees, "See?"

The others all gave each other glum frowns as Applejack growled back, "Listen Fluttershy, that sounds real nice 'n' all, but every second we spend buildin' this so-called 'sanctuary' is a second they'll spend destroyin' mah orchards!" She turned to everypony else. "You don't know what it was like the last time there was an infestation, but Granny Smith has told me enough stories about it that just the thought of it gives me nightmares! Granny says we lost a huge section of orchard that year, and it was so bad that they had to ration out apples all winter!"

Hearing this caused a wave of fear, Rainbow then gulping as she asked, "What about the cider?! There was still cider, right?!"

"Not...a...drop!"

Rainbow's eyes went wide in horror, "No cider?! NO CIDER?!" She flew above them, now fuelling her authoritative persona. "We need to round up these monsters, and we need to do it now!"

Applejack nodded in agreement. "If Granny Smith wasn't with Apple Bloom an' Big Mac checkin' out our produce competition in Appleloosa, she'd be here tellin' us to do just that!"

Flash turned to Twilight, "What do you think? I'm not one for making animals go hungry, but I'm also not a big fan of making ponies go hungry."

Twilight had been weighing the pros and cons of her two friends arguments, only to shake her head as she looked at Fluttershy, "I'm sorry Fluttershy, but I think Applejack is right." Fluttershy frowned at hearing this, "I just wish there was another way we could convince them to not eat them in the first place." Hearing herself say that, Twilight's brain clicked as a grin shined on her face. "Wait....maybe there is."

Flash facehoofed at this. "Oh geez. That's your, 'I'm gonna fix it with magic', face, isn't it? We're so doomed."

Springer blinked at this, "What's wrong with that?"

Flash dodged a wing-smack from Twilight as he replied, "When has magic ever fixed a problem we've had?!"

Pinkie, being Pinkie, used her mane to count. "Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra..."

Flash shook his head. "Those were last resort kind of situations. May I remind you of the parasprites, Smartypants, Mirror Pool and time travel incidents?! Magic didn't exactly help in those."

Springer nodded at that, "You got a point there."

Twilight, who had only been half listening, waved their comments away. "Don't worry, that won't happen this time."

Flash frowned, Twilight's over dependency on magic to solve problems making him visibly twitch. "Fine, but don't come crying to us when this comes back to bite us in the flank." Twilight's reply was a roll of the eyes before she teleported them to the library. When they appeared, the first thing they heard was the sound of somepony eating something crunchy. They turned to see Scootaloo with a bowl of cereal and an open Daring Do book. The filly looked up, only to gulp as she now saw Twilight glaring at her.

"What have I told you?" Twilight growled as she glared at the young pegasus.

Scootaloo chuckled as she swallowed her breakfast whole, "To not eat in the library."

"Exactly. Here, I'll take you to the dining room." Twilight's horn lit up and teleported the filly and her cereal out of the room. Once she was gone, Twilight began pulling several books off the shelf, scanning them over before coming to a stop. "Hmmm...so, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that I found a spell that can get the vampire fruit bats to stop wanting to suck the juice from the apples."

"Okay...." Flash interjected, "So what's the bad news?"

Twilight turned to Fluttershy, gulping at the mare, "The bad news is that in order for the spell to work, I need the bats' full and complete attention."

Fluttershy gasped, realizing what Twilight was thinking. "Oh no."

"Fluttershy, I need you to do your Stare on the bats."

Both Flash and Springer shuddered, memories of that event coursing through their brains. "Oh gosh..." they heard Fluttershy say. "I don't know."

"What's the problem?" Rainbow asked as she landed in front of her, "You've used the Stare plenty of times before!"

"Yes," Fluttershy nodded before looking away, "But its not something I take lightly. I've made a vow not to use it except in dire circumstances."

Applejack just hissed at this, "This circumstance is plenty dire to me Fluttershy!"

"Me too!" Rainbow fell to her knees as she literally started crying. "Think of the cider! Won't somepony please think of the cider?!"

"Drama queen..." Iron mumbled as he went up to Applejack and tapped her chest. "Look, Fluttershy doesn't wanna do it, so you can't make her."

Fluttershy smiled at Iron before turning to the others. "I'm sorry. I just don't like the idea of taking away the thing that really makes the vampire fruit bats, vampire fruit bats! It just feels wrong!"

"She's got a point," Springer added as he scratched his head. "Now that I think about it, isn't this like what happened with Discord? He forced you guys into being something you're not, so wouldn't doing this make you no better than him?"

"This is totally different," Twilight countered as she glared at the jakhowl. "Discord did it to cause chaos, disharmony, and trouble. We're doing it to help everypony."

"Except the fruit bats," Lightning replied as he crossed his hooves. "What the heck are they gonna eat if you take away their desire for apples? Won't they just move on to some other pony's fruit farm and cause them problems?"

"Then they can decide how to deal with 'em," Applejack hissed as she pointed to herself, "At least mah apples will be safe."

"So you'd let some other ponies suffer?" Iron asked with a raised eyebrow. "Kinda mean, isn't it?"

Applejack growled again, shaking her head. "Ah'm sorry, but I gotta put my family's well-being first." She turned to Fluttershy, glaring at the pegasi, "So you gotta put your love of these little vandals aside and help."

Fluttershy let out a whimper, backpedaling at her angry friend. Iron then walked up to her, comfort in his tone, "Fluttershy, you don't have to do this."

"Stay out of this Iron Core," Applejack interjected as she tapped the defender's side. "Let the girl make her own decision."

Iron turned to glare at the mare, but before he could say anything, Fluttershy spoke up. "Alright...I'll do it."

"Good choice Fluttershy," Rarity told her. "I knew you wouldn't side with those icky bats!"

"They're not icky!"

Having not heard her, Rainbow flew around the library with a huge grin. "Yes! First round of cider's on me!"

"Hold it right there!" Applejack called out, "We've gotta round up those beasts with wings first. Time's a-wastin'!"

"Then let's get to work."





Once Twilight had teleported them back to the farm, everypony split up and started gathering the bats. Applejack strapped a bunch of apples to Pinkie's head and had her bouncing around to attract the bats while Rarity had donned a hazmat suit, now trying to capture them in a net. Rainbow took the more direct approach, simply snatching the creatures out of the trees.

Flash and Springer were flying overhead, the jakhowl scanning the place to see if they had missed any. As they did this, Flash managed to get a proper look at the bats. While they didn't appear to be the blood sucking monsters Fluttershy sang them to be, Flash would hardly consider them cute. They were either grey or dark blue in color, with messy smelly hair and ugly looking fanged faces.

The two watched as the others managed to herd the bats towards a single tree that was filled with buckets of apples. The beasts quickly began to feast on them, Springer landing with Flash to tell them they had got them all.

"Good work everypony," Applejack glanced over at Fluttershy. "Now all we need is for you to do is your Stare."

The anxious pegasus began to mumble as she looked between the bats and her friends. "Are you sure I really need to?" she stopped when she saw the others happily nodding. "Okay..."

As she began to make her way to the tree, Iron continued to grumble at the peer pressuring group. "When this is over, don't think I won't be telling Princess Celestia about this."

Twilight rolled her eyes at the earth pony. "I'm sure she'll agree that this is for the best."

Fluttershy reached the tree and watched the bats enjoy the fruit, "I really, really, really hate to do this to you," she told them as she fought back tears. "I just hope you can forgive me." With that, she shut her eyes, a long deep breath following. Seconds later, she opened them and unleashed the almost hypnotic gaze that was usually her last resort. The stare's power instantly hit the bats, all of them hissing at the mare before they froze with wide eyes.

Applejack grinned at the sight. "Yes! Good job Fluttershy! Now, your turn Twilight!"

"Alright..." Twilight trotted up to the tree and sparked her horn. The light of her magic increased as the aura engulfed the bats, slowly rewriting their natural desire to eat apples. It wasn't long till her spell stopped, a big smile gracing her face as she turned to Fluttershy, "You can stop staring Fluttershy. I'm done."

Fluttershy, who had been staring with all her focus, broke out of her trance and shook her head before frowning.

"Did it work?" Spike asked next.

"Only one way to find out for sure," Applejack nodded up at Rainbow.

The pegasus nodded back before offering one of the few remaining apples to the bat. The bat took a close sniff, only for its face to cringe in disgust before flying away. Seeing this, Rainbow cheered, "Ye-he-yeah, whoo!"

"My crop is saved! Yee-haw!"

"We'll be drinking cider all winter long!"

Applejack turned to the others, showing the first smile they had seen her wear all day. "I wanna thank you all for your help. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Aw, don't mention it Applejack," Spike said while puffing his chest up. "It was my pleasure! Really!"

Flash shot him a glare, a raised eyebrow following, "What exactly did you do that was your pleasure?" This was met by Spike twiddling his claws, whistling as he tried to think of a reply.

Applejack laughed as she patted the ground. "Now all we gotta do is sweep up these apple cores so I can start buckin' fresh tomorrow mornin'!"

The others all nodded before heading off to get some brooms, Iron then noticing Fluttershy not going for one of the brooms. She was just staring at the dirt, a slight sigh following. "Hey shrimp, you okay?"

Fluttershy quickly turned to Iron, surprise on her face, "What?"

Iron raised an eyebrow as he almost tilted his head. "You alright?"

Fluttershy nodded. "I'm fine, just a little...hungry."

"I'm guessing this little emergency made you miss breakfast?"

"Maybe..."

Before they could say anything else, Applejack's voice entered the air again, "You two coming or not?" Not wanting to have to listen to the mare complain, the two followed after the others and their earlier conversation was left forgotten...for now.





Sunset had been an hour ago and now Iron was walking home after his evening patrol. He was still a little annoyed at the others for reassuring Fluttershy into doing what she did, but he was more annoyed at himself for not trying to talk her out of it. His memory flashed back to when Discord had been around, and how he'd gone over the line trying to keep Fluttershy safe from him. He knew he shouldn't wrap the mare in bubble now, but he still wished he had done that today.

It was here that a rustle of a nearby bush caught his attention, making him take a defensive stance. That is, till a certain figure hopped out of the leaves, revealing one Angel Bunny. He had a worried look on his face, one that the earth pony hadn't ever seen on him before.

"Hey fuzzball, what's up?" Angel frantically hopped over to Iron and tried to push him, making the apprentice knight raise an eyebrow. Iron then looked up and saw where Angel was pushing him to. "Wait...is there something wrong with Fluttershy? That's what you're saying, right fuzzball?"

Angel gave him a quick nod, causing him to lower his hoof, "Hop on." Angel took it and got on his back, the two making their way to the cottage. There, they got the house's door, knocking it as he Iron called out, "Hey squirt! You in there?!"

There was no answer, prompting Iron to open the door and look inside. The place was deserted, not even an animal inside. Not only that, the inside was a mess, complete with a table knocked over, a sofa flipped upside down, and one of the back windows flung open. And as he blinked at this, he said, "Fluttershy? You in here?"

Angel hopped off his back as Iron got no response. He let out a little whine as he saw his owner was missing, making Iron turn to him. "Hey, Fluttershy was here when you left, right?" Angel nodded, "And...was anything wrong with her?" Another nod, "Did see appear to be in pain?" That third and final nod was all he needed before bolting outside, looking to the ground to search for tracks. However, Iron couldn't find a single one. He knew this was bad, as Fluttershy didn't usually fly unless absolutely necessary. "I might need some help."





Flash yawned as he rubbed his eye with his wing, the defender now following Iron with Twilight, Spike and Springer. The earth pony had come knocking before they were about to go to bed, telling them that Fluttershy was missing. He then asked Springer to track her aura, only to for the jakhowl to tell him that he couldn't find her through a regular scan.

Thanks to this, they made their way to Fluttershy's cottage. And as the building came into view, Iron turned back to them. "Anything?" He asked the jakhowl, only to get a shake of the head as a response.

"Sorry Iron. I can't seem to pick up her aura anywhere."

Iron let out a long groan, rubbing his face as Twilight started to pace at this. "Oh no. Its not like Fluttershy to just disappear like this! I know she was upset about using her stare on the bats, but I didn't think she'd run off like this."

"I don't think that's it," Iron replied as he told them about what Angel had said, making them grimace. "See? I'm guessing this isn't going to go well."

"Agreed. I'm gonna go get the others." Twilight's horn flashed as she disappeared, Flash and the others blinking at the sight.

"Okay...now what?" Flash asked as he rubbed his eyes again. "We gonna split up and look for her?"

"Looks like that's our only op-" Iron stopped when he saw Springer's ears flare up, making him almost smile, "You got her?"

"I think so," Springer replied as he rubbed his chin. "I got a trace of...something. I don't know what it is, but its similar to Fluttershy's aura. Though...it feels kinda weird."

"Weird how?" Flash asked next.

"Its a lot more...feral. Almost like the kind I'd sense from an animal."

"Well, it is Fluttershy's aura," Flash shrugged. "There's the animals she looks after, which Iron said wasn't at her cottage, so you're probably just sensing them being with her."

Springer shook his head. "I don't think so. Whatever it is...its heading to Sweet Apple Acres."

That was all Iron needed, the defender turning to the path that would take him to the farm. "You two stay here and tell the others when they get here." Flash and Springer nodded as they watched Iron leave.





As the earth pony got closer to the farm, his path was blocked by another earth pony. It was Applejack, tilting her head at the defenders's appearance as she asked, "Wotcha doin here? Shouldn't yah be lookin for Fluttershy?"

"I am. The jakhowl sensed her here." Applejack blinked at this, only to nod and gesture to the orchid.

"Then let's get goin," the two ran into the farm, both calling out, "Fluttershy! You here?"

"Hey, Shrimp...you out here? You alright?"

But there was no reply.

It was here that it started getting darker, making Applejack to take a quick detour into her house and return with a pair of flashlights. "Here, these should help."

"Thanks," Iron switched it on and took it into his mouth. "Let's split up. That should speed this search up." Applejack nodded before the two headed down different routes. Iron followed the light of his torch as he moved between the apple trees, his eyes constantly scanning the trees. He searched for half an hour before suddenly coming to a stop. A squishing sound below his hooves made him stare down to see he had stepped on an apple...one which had been sucked dry like the bats had done earlier.

"What the heck?" He picked the fruit up, looking it over, "Hmm...this thing is still fresh. If that's the case..." His torch's light then fell on something a few feet away, making him see another drained apple. He waved the light around the area, seeing even more absorbed apples. "That's not good. This is definitely not just one bat."

It was in that moment that he sensed another presence, making him pull out his Celestic Gear. A low breath exhaled out of his mouth as he pointed the spear around, his eyes and flashlight trying to find anything. "Who's there!?" Iron yelled as he backpedaled slightly. The defender then directed the light around, his ears now hearing a hissing sound, "Hey! Where are you?!"

It was here a shadow flew over him, making him flinch back. "Whoa!" Iron yelped a he fell onto his flank, only to spin around and swing his weapon at the shadow. "Iron Lance Fury!" The projectiles shot out at the figure, barely missing it as they embedded themselves into the trunks of trees. It was here that the shadow hopped back into the trees, shrouding itself into the night again. "Dang it...it got away." he groaned as he picked himself up. He then shined the light at the trees he had hit, illuminating the shards as he saw the pieces had struck something. A pink tail hair.

"Iron? You okay?" yelled a voice, making the earth pony turn to see Flash and the others.

"What the...what are you guys doing here?"

"We were following that weird aura," Springer told him as he hopped off Flash's back. "It led us here."

Rainbow landed in front of him, "Did you find her?"

Iron blinked at her, then looked back at the hair he had found. His heart started beating faster as he started putting the pieces together. "Oh no..."

"What is it?" Rarity asked next.

"Yeah," Lightning added, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Before Iron could say anything, a section of the orchid illuminated as a loud cry filled the air. "AAAHHHH!!"

"That's Applejack!" Twilight gasped.

"Come on!" Flash pointed at the light, the group soon running to the orchid. There, they spotted Applejack staring up at a tree. "Applejack, what is it?" Applejack didn't reply, instead dropping both her jaw and her torch.

"Hello? You okay?" Lightning asked as he waved his hoof in front of her.

"Look!" Springer pointed at the tree and the others followed, seeing something hanging from one of the branches. "What is that thing?"

Iron did a large gulp, "I think I know." With that, he raised his torch and illuminated the tree. What was revealed was a dark yellow thestral with pink hair, its wings wrapped around its upper head. As soon as the light shined on it, the thestral unfurled its wings, a loud hiss following. It was Fluttershy, her eyes now blood red as she glared at the group.

It was here that Pinkie jumped up and grabbed the branch Fluttershy was on with her tail. "Fluttershy...woohoo! Is that you?" The bat pony hissed once again, causing Pinkie to let go in fright.

Rarity put her hooves over her mouth, "That's not Fluttershy, that's Flutterbat!"

"We've gotta get her down from there!" Twilight added.

"I don't know," Flash said as he put his wing in front of Twilight. "The last time I face off against a thestral, it wasn't exactly painless."

The others shivered at this as Rarity spoke up. "Fluttershy, sweetness, please come down, and...do stop being a vampire bat." In reply, Flutterbat hissed before using her newly extended tongue to grab an apple and drain it with her new fangs.

And as Flutterbat spat the drained fruit away, Rainbow flew up to her. "Fluttershy! It's me, Rainbow Dash! Why don't you cut the bat act and come on down?!" In response, Flutterbat spread her wings and flapped them with such a force that it sent Rainbow flying back.

Flash flew up and caught her, "You alright?"

Rainbow nodded as they floated back to the ground, "Maybe we should just let her come down when she's ready." But as she said this, Flutterbat flew over them, forcing them to duck down. Once she passed by, Lightning and Springer stood up before reading a dagger and Bone Breaker.

"Hold it you two! We can't hurt her!" Iron ordered as he pointed his gear at them. "Even if she is a...bat pony now, she's still Fluttershy."

Twilight nodded in agreement, "He's right. She's our friend, so don't hurt her, and I'm sure she won't hurt us." She looked back at the tree and saw Flutterbat hang herself upside down again. "See? She's back on her...branch."

Pinkie chose this moment to throw one of her wild theories into the mix. "Maybe she's just biding her time! Waiting for the right moment to pounce and gobble us up!"

"Pinkie Pie..." Applejack moaned as she resisted a facehoof. "Bats don't eat ponies, not even vampire bats."

Pinkie, still looking terrified, continued adding to her wild theory. "But maybe vampire ponies eat other ponies! I'm not taking any chances!" With that, she started drilling into the ground with her mane.

The sight made Lightning blink as he mumbled, "Yeah...she's perfect for Wild."

As he continued to watch this, Rarity asked a more important question. "What I would like to know is how did this happen? That's what I don't understand."

Twilight looked down, a look of shame appearing on her face. "I think this was actually our fault."

Rainbow turned to her, "our fault?"

"And how'd yah figure that?"

Twilight's horn glowed before a magical screen appeared near them, the board soon showing a grid pattern. On that screen appeared an image of a purple alicorn, black bat and yellow pegasus. "Okay, so this is me, these are the bats, and this is Fluttershy doing her Stare." Screen Twilight then fired a red line at the bat. "The spell was supposed to go right onto the bats like this...." Screen bat glowed purple, but then the red waves flew out and hit the Fluttershy symbol. "But somehow the spell must have backfired," the bat symbol was then absorbed into Fluttershy, replacing her with Flutterbat. "It took the vampire fruit bats' desire to be vampire fruit bats and transferred that desire into Fluttershy."

Flash took this moment to interject. "So what you're saying is, this whole thing came back to bite you on the flank." He rubbed his chin and hummed, "That sounds awfully familiar."

Twilight sighed at this, "Fine...you were right."

"I'll save the victory dance for later," Flash commented as he turned back to Flutterbat, "We need to find a way to turn Fluttershy back to normal first."

"Agreed. I suspect that all we'll need to do is reverse the spell."

"Meaning we gotta catch her," Springer guessed before the ground beside him opened up, Pinkie's head popping out.

"Then what are we waiting for?" She pointed at Flutterbat, "let's save Fluttershy, BEFORE THAT THING EATS US ALL!"

It was in that moment that Flutterbat dive bombed them, Rainbow yelling, "Hit the deck!" Everypony yelped as they threw themselves to the ground, Flutterbat flying over head before disappearing into the night.

"Follow that bat!" Pinkie roared as she ran into the trees, the other following. But as they tried to follow, ten minutes passed until they all came to a stop, frowns all around.

"I can't believe we lost her," Rarity commented. "Its too dark, even with our flashlights."

"You feel her Springer?" Flash asked as he turned to the jakhowl.

"No...I'm trying, but her aura keeps changing."

"It must be the bat personality taking over. Her aura is probably fluctuating due to it." Twilight let out a long sigh. "Oh Fluttershy, where are you?" She soon got her answer when the sound of beating wings filled the air, making them spin around to see the thestral hissing above them.

Flash was the first to respond, jumping in front of Twilight and raising his Celestic Gear to unleash a burst of light. As he expected, Flutterbat recoiled from the light, making her float back. She then swooped down, grabbing an apple off the ground before sucking it dry as she flew fight in front of the moon.

She then dive bombed again, this time unleashing a barrage of apple seeds. "Look out!" Applejack warned them as they shielded themselves, the apple carcass landing in front of her.

When they opened their eyes, Rainbow Dash spotted the apple before turning to Applejack. "If she keeps this up, your whole crop will be gone in no time!"

"That's the least of mah worries," Applejack looked up at the sky in time to spot Flutterbat flying over them again. "Ah just want my friend back."

"Oh really? Now ya care about her?!" Iron growled, making Applejack glare at him.

"Hey! Ah do care mah friend!"

"Obviously you don't!" Iron barked back. "This never would have happened if you hadn't forced Fluttershy into doing her stare, something you knew she didn't want to do!"

Applejack was going to yell, only to sigh, "Ah...ah know."

"You don't know," Iron almost yelled, his hoof now hitting the dirt, making the ground shake. "How can you even call her your friend if you're willing to force her to do something she didn't want to do! She never would've tried to make you do something against your nature!"

"Ah know, but-"

"You don't! You-"

"That's enough!" Twilight commanded as she got between the two. "Yes, we were wrong. But dwelling on that now isn't gonna fix anything. If we don't work together, then we'll never be able to catch her so I can reverse the spell!"

Iron growled at this, only to sigh. "Alright...fine."

"Let's get our friend back." Applejack added, tapping Iron's side. "Come on."

Twilight nodded at this, gesturing them to follow. There, they started trotting through the orchid in search of any sign of Flutterbat. After twenty minutes of this, they eventually spotted a curled up shadow a ways off. Twilight whispered at the sight, "There she is!" They stepped to one more pace, only for Flutterbat to flare her wings, flying off again a second later. "There she goes!"

"This is gonna take forever," Flash added before turning to Twilight. "I don't suppose there's a chance she'd turn back to normal on her own, then we could reverse the spell on her."

"Maybe...but she might also change permanently. Then it'll be...well, it'll be too late."

"So what do we do?" Springer asked next. "We've obviously can't catch her, she's to unpredictable."

It was here that a click went off in Iron's head. "Maybe not. She's acting like a vampire bat, so we just need to do what we did to catch the other vampire bats."

Twilight quickly caught on. "You're right! We need to lure her in with some kind of bait."

Everypony all smiled at this, that is till Applejack spoke up, "But even if we can lure her to us, how're we gonna get her to stay still long enough for you to do yah to do that reverse spell?"

"Yeah...that's not gonna work." Pinkie moaned, "If only we had Fluttershy to do her stare on the Flutterbat."

It was then that Twilight gasped, an idea popping into her head. "That's it!"

Flash grinned at this, "Ah...there's your 'I've got a solution' face. About time. What's the plan Twi?" Twilight quickly explained her idea, others all nodding before breaking up to get what they needed. One hour later, the group were walking through orchid whilst Twilight magically carried something covered by a tarp.

"Okay, let's get our friend back." Rainbow and Flash removed the tarp, revealing Applejack's prize winning apple. "Action stations!" The others headed out as Applejack and Iron stood by the apple.

As Iron readied his Celestic Gear, Rainbow spoke up. "So much for having the winning apple in the Appleloosa State Fair, huh?"

Iron rolled his eyes at this, Piecemaker now about to cut the fruit, only for Applejack to say, "Wait. Hold on Iron."

"What?!" He asked a little too harshly, turning and glaring at the farmer.

Applejack held out her hoof, "Let me do it. Please." She saw Iron's glare and sighed, pulling her hat down over her eyes. "You were right. I was putting mah own needs over that of mah friends, not even thinking about how it would effect her, and then this is what happened." She pushed her hat back up, showing a fiery determination now within her eyes. "Please, let me put this right."

She and Iron had a small staring contest, Iron growling at her words. Despite this, Iron nodded before handing his Celestic Gear over. "Alright."

Applejack smiled as she took the weapon, "Thanks partner." With that, she dug the spearhead into the apple, making a small slice. The apple juices immediately began to pour out, unleashing an aroma that would attract any apple loving creature with a good nose. Rainbow and Flash started flapping their wings, sending the smell off in a hope of catching Flutterbat's attention. The unnatural thestral hissed as it flew to the source of the smell, the giant apple quickly coming into view.

"She's coming," Rainbow whispered to the earth ponies.

"Remember, you need to wait until the very last minute."

Iron and Applejack both nodded as they watched Flutterbat approach. She got closer and closer, only for Iron to yell, "Now!" He and Applejack then bucked the apple away, seconds before she could get her fangs on it.

Kicking it away revealed Spike and Springer, the two holding up a mirror that reflected Flutterbat's image. Doing so made her gasp, the bat pony soon floating backwards. She then turned, only to run right into Pinkie as she held a mirror as well. Moving away again, it saw Rarity and Lightning, the two holding up mirrors that now trapped her in a circle of stares. Unable to escape, Flutterbat found herself being mesmerised by her own ability, freezing up as hovered in place.

Seeing her target incapacitated, Twilight sparked her horn before unleashing a purple light. The aura wrapped up Flutterbat in a cocoon. Everypony watched as the spell was undone and after a full minute, the cocoon exploding into bat shaped lights that flew away.

Flutterbat was gone, replaced with her true form. Fluttershy floated to the ground and collapsed, everypony watching her with baited breath. Eventually, she opened her eyes. "Oh....where am I?"

Everypony cheered as they crowded around her, Applejack pulled her into a hug, "Thank goodness ya'll are okay!"

Iron nodded in agreement, "Don't ever scare us like that again."

Fluttershy blinked at the hug, her head tilting as she asked, "But...what happened to me?"

Before the more logical members of the group could say anything, Pinkie hopped in front of the pegasi and exclaimed, "You turned into a vampire pony!"

Fluttershy gasped at this, "I tried to eat ponies?!"

"Of course not!" Pinkie rolled her eyes.

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief, "So, I wasn't a vampire?

"Yes."

"Yes I was, or yes I wasn't?

"Yes you were!"

"But I didn't try and eat ponies?"

"Yes!"

"I did?!"

"No!"

Fluttershy scratched her head at this, "I'm confused."

"Me too," Rarity added as she giggled, "And I was there!"

"That doesn't matter right now," Applejack stepped in front of Fluttershy. "Listen Fluttershy, ah...ah'm sorry. It was wrong of me ta pressure yah into doing something yah didn't wanna do. If I hadn't, then none of this would have happened." She stared at the ground, trying to hold back her tears. "Can yah ever forgive me?"

Fluttershy just blinked at this, her confusion still on her face. Despite this, she threw her hooves around the earth pony, "Of course Applejack. I could never stay angry at my friends. Besides, I shouldn't have been so easily persuaded into doing it."

Everypony smiled as they watched the two make up before Flash turned to Twilight, "So...since you've undone the spell on Fluttershy, what'll happen to the bats?"

Twilight sighed at this. "They'll go back to being the apple loving creatures they were always meant to be."

"So we're right back to where we started with the bat problem?"

"Pretty much."

"If that's the case, what do we do now?" Lightning asked next.

Applejack was the one to give the answer. "Simple. We do what we should have done in the first place."





Several days later...

Once all the details had been thought out, our heroes finally managed to finish the new Vampire Fruit Bat sanctuary. Fluttershy had gotten the hang of their language, the kind pony now able to explain to the bats that they were being given a part of the orchid to do with as they liked. Everypony watched as the bats flew into their new permanent home, Applejack placing a sign in front of the fence surrounding it. Once that was done, the farm pony turned to her friends "Fluttershy, ah'm real sorry ah didn't take yer suggestion in the first place."

Seeing her friend about to go all depressed again, Fluttershy lifted her head up and smiled. "And don't forget, now you'll get seeds that will grow into even bigger and better apple trees."

Rainbow Dash took this moment to get between the two, putting a hoof around their necks. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Yup! More cider too!"

"Yea-he-yeah, WHOO!" Everypony laughed as they watched her do a midair dance, happy that this little episode was finally coming to a close. There was just one thing left to do.





Later that day at Fluttershy's cottage...

Spike was laying on the floor, the friendship diary open as he wrote in it. "Okay, got the part about the spell, Fluttershy turning into a bat, building a sanctuary..."

Applejack crouched down next to him. "Be sure to put in there that I came to see that my short-term solution was a little short-sighted."

Fluttershy then crouched down on the other side of him. "And that you shouldn't let anypony pressure you into doing something that you don't think is right." She saw Applejack blush as the two stood back up. "Sometimes you have to tell even your closest friends 'no'."

"Well said," Flash added as his stomach grumbled. "Though, being around all these apples and not eating any sure can build up an appetite."

"Ah got just the thing," Applejack pulled out an apple and held it in front of Fluttershy. "How about we celebrate our stronger than ever friendship with a nice, ripe, juicy apple?" They watched as Fluttershy stared at the apple, her tongue about to flap out of her mouth.

But as everypony stared at the sight, Pinkie suddenly jumped between the two, "Stand back!" She spoke in a strange fake accent before she grabbed the apple, a pair of fangs appearing out of her mouth. "I vant to suck its juuuice!" She took a bite out of the apple, only for her fangs to come out and show they were fakes. She looked up at the others and gave a sheepish grin, all soon laughing at her antics. Yes, this would certainly be an event many of them would remember. Even if none of them noticed the oddly sharp fang Fluttershy was still sporting in her mouth.